A request by Apple to photograph Oslo from the air was rebuffed by the Norwegian government, prompting the U.S. embassy to offer support for the initiative meant to broaden Flyover coverage in the Maps app.

Map of Oslo as rendered in iOS Maps.

Apple recently applied for a license to photograph Norway's capital city, but the country's National Security Authority rejected the request because it would not have control over the possibly sensitive data, reports Aftenposten.

Acting director of the NSA ?yvind Mandt told the publication on Monday that Apple's application was denied due to the high precision of the Flyover feature, which maps photographic images over 3D renderings. Such photos can inadvertently reveal secure government installations and classified "sensitive areas."

The issue has reportedly drawn the attention of the U.S. embassy, which contacted Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang for assistance. Stang subsequently asked Defense Minister Anne-Grete Str?m-Erichsen to reconsider Apple's application, saying the company has already received permits to conduct identical operations in "all Western capitals."

Apple's in-house mapping service usually handles matters of government security by replacing renderings of sensitive areas with low-resolution assets. Such is the case with the White House and other secure U.S. facilities.

Acting director of the NSA Øyvind Mandt told the publication on Monday that Apple's application was denied due to the high precision of the Flyover feature, which maps photographic images over 3D renderings. Such photos can inadvertently reveal secure government installations and classified "sensitive areas."

Well we certainly wouldn't want the NSA feeling like someone was invading their privacy.

Why not allow the Norwegian government to preview and block out sensitive locales? Maps could fall back to satellite resolution images for those sections. It's not like Dick Cheney's home isn't also pixelated in Google Maps.

Why not allow the Norwegian government to preview and block out sensitive locales? Maps could fall back to satellite resolution images for those sections. It's not like Dick Cheney's home isn't also pixelated in Google Maps.

Or hire Japanese pornographers, they're pros at pixelating the good stuff.

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Why not allow the Norwegian government to preview and block out sensitive locales? Maps could fall back to satellite resolution images for those sections. It's not like Dick Cheney's home isn't also pixelated in Google Maps.

The trouble is, blocking out sensitive locations would let everyone know where they are :)

Nope. Check for yourself, Google has Street View for basically the entire city.

I guess the Norwegians feel Apple's Fly Over would be far more accurate then.

Seriously though, this is typical knee jerk reaction. I am pretty sure anyone wanting to set off a device in any city isn't going to call it off because they can't use their iPhone to select the spot to place it. The same logic would have refused map makers permission to map it in 2D back in the day.

Some one, who I won't name, with the brains of a donkey, suggested on this blog allowing Apple to use lower resolution. Yeah, great idea, they could print fuzzy out of focus 2D maps while they are at it. Then they'd be really safe!Edited by digitalclips - 8/12/13 at 5:23pm

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

The trouble is, blocking out sensitive locations would let everyone know where they are

One possible compromise might be to agree on a much lower resolution.

If it is hiding in plain sight (say, a sensitive location that is disguised as a nondescript feature), then it is already hidden and there's no need to call attention to it. OTOH, if it is a known sensitive location, then pixelating it acknowledges that it is sensitive, but does not give away its secrets. I don't see a problem either way.

What Apple pixelates is irrelevant since the NSA/CIA can grab the unedited data from Apple. Of course they probably already flew their spy planes all over that city without first asking.
Besides, what they are saying: look for pixelated stuff, and then you know where the important targets are? Nice giveaway. If they left things detailed it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, now it's like finding fluorescent flags in a haystack...
A little fractal analysis on the image data and all sensitive locations can be auto-highlited.
Don't think suicide bombers are interested in building details all that much...

Norway is a big country (Oslo is nearer to Rome than it is to the most northernly tip of the mainland). There's parts where snow hardly ever settles and there's parts where there's almost always snow on the ground.

It seems odd that one can take a 3D Flyover tour of the Eiffel Tower -- but not the Washington Monument... Or the London House Of Parliament and Downing Street -- but not US Senate/House and the White House...

It appears that some governments are more concerned with their own safety than that of their constituents.

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